Ken Cribb knows that his Bluffton High team is always ready to explode.

Not just with one big play, but a series of them that can turn a close game into a one-sided rout. All it takes is a spark.

Cribb tried to ignite the Bobcats with a couple of early trick plays Friday against Beaufort — and as usual, it worked.

“That’s all we need, and we’re off,” Cribb said. “Any time we get a spark, we usually rock and roll.”

It started with a hook-and-ladder on the first play, a toss from receiver Marquis Webber to wing back Gerald Roberson that went 25 yards and set up their first touchdown.

The Bobcats bogged down a bit on their next two possessions, however, so Cribb took another chance late in the first quarter.

Webber lost a fumble on the second series and Beaufort stuffed Bluffton on a third-and-short at the Bobcats’ 29. They dialed up a fake punt on fourth down, which safety B.J. Hill took 41 yards to the Eagles’ 30-yard line.

Three plays later, Bluffton went ahead for good on one of C.J. Frazier’s four touchdown passes.

At least one Beaufort player was in position to stop the fake, but Hill ran through a tackle and broke off the long gain.

“They had me behind the line, but I mean, it’s fourth down and 1,” Hill said. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

Hill and the defense gave up a long run late in the half that led to a field goal, but they clamped down on Beaufort after that. The sparks the trick plays provided were more than enough to hold off the Eagles.

It was just the latest big play made by Hill, who ran a kickoff for a touchdown against Hilton Head Island and has played a little offense late in blowouts.

“He can go,” Cribb said. “I’m probably doing him a disservice by not giving him more touches. He’s a great kid and a team-oriented person.”

Senior cornerback Anthony Smith, who pulled down two fourth-quarter interceptions, said the Bobcats are always ready for Cribb to take a few chances on Friday nights.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all, because he takes everything so seriously in practice,” Smith said. “We know at any given time, we can run anything he’s put in.”

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